The Ornamented Being

Another behind the scenes shot from my new series “Adventures in Historic Headwear: 16th century Hot or Not?” 

Valentyne

Katrina Rhodes

Acrylic on cotton 
Image from the26thletter.com.au.

It’s a ruff job but someone has to do it.

Only 170” to go in what is being renamed the Lyze what have you gotten yourself into?!?!! project.

To amuse me as I embark upon this terrible lovely hand stitched, hand gathered, hand everything because we didn’t have sewing machines in the 16th century, journey :

“Intern Lyze gets up close and personal with one of the Tudor Tailor’s favourite sources of costume information. Photographing the effigy of Mattathia St Paul who died aged nearly 2, depicted on her parent’s monument of 1613 in St. Lawrence’s Church, Snarford, Lincolnshire”

;D See! I’m not dead! 

Happy Ides of March!

Morning all! Have a wonderful day and remember problems are best overcome one step at a time!

My music’s so loud
I’m swangin’
They hopin’ that they gon’ catch me ridin’ dirty

Imaginary hands up if you had to take a double look at this photo to realize Anna is actually sitting on the ostrich and doesn’t have crazy bird legs

Princesse de Lamballe

How naughty! 

James Gillray: Fashionable Contrasts; – or – the Duchess’s little shoe yeilding to the magnitude of the Duke’s foot, originally published by Hannah Humphrey on January 24, 1792.

Brilliant idea!

Well. I’m not a very science-y person but even I can tell there is something a little off with this anatomy. 

Silk Corset, Europe, 1871-1900

Science Museum of London

“Corsets were once very fashionable items of clothing, designed to be tightly pulled to give women an hourglass shape or show off a military man’s rigid and straight back. Unfortunately, excessive use could be very damaging to the internal structures of the body. To the right of the corset is a plaster cast of a female torso (A61203), dissected to show the internal organs which have become displaced after many years of corset wearing. Judging by the floral silk design, this corset was probably owned by a woman. Corsets were also worn for orthopaedic conditions where the spine needed support.”

Also, please note those are stays and they are not Victorian.

Edit: My roommate is a doctor and explained  that apparently the photographer has the torso upside down. So I fixed it for you!

An Edwardian lady (with an incredibly tiny waist) brushing her teeth.

For some weird reason this is all that keeps popping into my mind.

I regret nothing.